12/01/2015 - The new head of the Dutch film marketing outfit will start his job on 1 March

Marten Rabarts is to become the new head of EYE International from 1 March, when veteran Claudia Landsberger steps down from her position after 20 years at the organisation, where she has been in charge of the international marketing and promotion of Dutch films.

According to EYE director Sandra den Hamer, replacing Landsberger was not an easy task, but Rabarts stood out as the ideal choice, as he “has years of experience in the (inter)national film industry, has a large national and international network, is an energetic team player and is bursting with ambition to lift Dutch film to an even higher level internationally”.

Rabarts said: “Representing and promoting Dutch cinema, filmmakers and industry abroad is a task I can’t wait to get my teeth into. The ever-increasing flow of diverse and high-quality work, evidenced already in 2015 by a Foreign Oscar shortlist contender (Accused) as well as a major new work by Peter Greenaway (Eisenstein in Guanajuato) in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, indicates the robust good health of our industry. I look forward to engaging with all the stakeholders of our talented film community to work together to put Dutch film in the international spotlight, where it belongs.”

New Zealand-born Rabarts is at present head of development and training at the NFDC – the National Film Development Corporation – in Mumbai, India. He began his working life as an actor and a dancer, after which he worked in London at PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Working Title, among other firms. He was involved with films like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by Stephan Elliott, Derek Jarman's Edward II, Safe by Todd Haynes and Kids by Larry Clark.

Rabarts has also been artistic director of the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam for 12 years. During his time in Mumbai he has set up NFDC LABS, the successor to the NFDC Film Bazaar Labs, which he had led since 2008. He is also a member of the advisory board of the TorinoFilmLab, CPH:DOX Lab and Clinik Kathmandu.